Dean’s Update, March 29, 2012

Affect of CSULB Budget Issues on CBA

Unless tax proposals are passed on the November 2012 ballot, the CSU budget will be cut an additional $200m, resulting in a $27m cut to CSULB during 2012-2013. Academic Affairs has told us that the CBA budget will be cut approximately $609,065 next year. Ali Chu and I are working on how to meet these cuts. We will work with department chairs in this process and more updates will be provided as this process unfolds over the coming weeks and months.

Cuts of the magnitude anticipated on top of the budget cuts we have experienced since the 2008-2009 will be painful, but the University is taking the approach of planning for the worst. Starting the planning process now is essential because we won’t know about the tax proposals/$200m cut until November, and adjusting completely to such a large cut in Spring 2013 is not possible. The CSU is taking the conservative approach that we will face the $200m cut and that we should start planning now for Fall 2012.

As President Alexander has said, everything will be on the table. There will be no funds for travel, and support for Assigned Time and GA’s will be greatly reduced. We will look to reduce sections offered. We will try to keep funding for everything essential, but things that are important but not essential cannot be funded.

We are just at the beginning of the planning/budgeting process, but I want to let everyone know about the situation we are facing. As we progress and get more definite in the planning, I will keep you updated. To help you understand the context of the process facing all CSULB colleges, the major points made by the Provost in his recent email are provided next. As the next item shows, planning the responses to a budget reduction of $200m cuts across all dimensions of the University.